


Broken In

by stayinxalive



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), gemsona - Fandom
Genre: 5 different POVs, Angst, Canon Related, Crystal Gems, Different gem same name, Don't Judge Me, Don't question it, F/F, Gem OCs, Gem War, Gemsonas - Freeform, Gen, Multi, Non-Canon Earth Colonies and Wars, Noot Noot, OCs - Freeform, Oppression, Post-War, Pre-Canon, Pre-War, Rebellion, Self Harm, There is a lotta death, There will probably be some low-key undertale references, Third Person POV, War, but there is no blood, gems die, i am trash, it is kinda sad too, it may sounds angsty but i swear it isn't that bad plea se, just over all violence, put me in the trash, self harm but not really, some canon interaction, sorry - Freeform, they are fighting others wars besides the earth ones, unnamed alien race
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5737876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayinxalive/pseuds/stayinxalive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five gems are forced together by circumstance, to protect the Earth from danger.  Some are older and full of suffering, wisdom, and others are fresh, newly-created gems with a rebellious streak and unsure motives. No one knows who to trust. A war has been brewing, and some aren't sure who to believe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Authors Force Upon You A Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get an introduction to the protagonist(s) of the story, Cornelian and Coral. Both very different in some ways, while also a lot alike.

**Coral, Healing station 7, Future Homeworld Colony 16**...47 _years before Earth Rebellion._

                                                                                          

 

A battle for colonization has just begun on a faraway planet. Some gems would be thrown into the fray. Others, like Coral, were left to the side, to their own devices. She was grateful for that; what sort of gem doesn't like being left alone, In a nice, quiet room, free from extraterrestrials who want to kill you against the order of your leader? The sound of the warp that led to the healing station wasn't even in the way of Coral's work- at least not yet, the battle had just started.

There was no preparation needed. Lower-class healing gems were lined up on one wall, sitting down on stools. There were ten to a room for post-battle injuries. The stronger, less vulnerable healing gems were used out on the battlefield, to prevent more powerful gems from shattering. Coral was just one in ten, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Even the thought of Homeworld (of course) winning the trivial battle and taking new land wasn't enough to bring a smile to her face. She was too busy to smile.

A lot of gems were cracked. Even more were probably shattered, the leftover dust and shards from their defeat strewn over the battlefield. The thought was sad, but oddly comforting- Coral was lucky. The near-casualties of the battles, the cracked gems, came straggling in, some distorted and disfigured, others less so. Some came carrying gems that were whole, with no physical form to be found. Others came with shattered remains of acquaintances, those of their kind that they had been fused with. They streamed in, a few at a time, into the technologically-advanced room, located far away from the battlefield, connected only by a warp-pad.

Taking the first cracked gem into her rather small hands, Coral closed her eyes. She concentrated, What she wanted- Scratch that. What she needed to do was heal this gem. She thought hard about her purpose, what she was made to do. She thought of a stream of energy, leaving her gem and entering the injured gem in her palm. She felt something physically leave her. Opening her eyes once again, she removed her hands from the rapidly-healing gem, shooing the owner away with a wave of her hand. She gestured for the next in line to come towards her. After taking a new gem in her hand, she stared at it with confusion. This is a gem she hadn't healed before. The gem looked moments away from shattering. But her job was not to think of who she was saving, only to save them. So again, her hands clasped around the almost-broken gem and closed her eyes.

Again, she hoped for the well-being of the gem, and thought of some sort of energy leaving her and entering the other. The deep cracks  began to heal, and the dull gem began to glow a bit brighter than before. She held onto it for a minute, before setting it beside her. When the gem assumed her physical form again, then she'd be free to go. For now, however, it went in the pile. The pile didn't have a lot of gems at the moment, but considering how long they had been healing and the intense fights taking place, more to come was promised. She breathed in sharply, regaining any strength she had lost during the last gem. She put her hand up, stopping the next in line. This lasted a good five minutes before she gestured to the next in line to come and resumed her duty. 

This tedious task resumed for a while, with lengthy pauses in between. Coral did not have much stamina, something that would be fixed with experience and time. After one of her pauses, she beckoned for the last gem in her line to come towards her. Instantly, she stiffened. It was an Imperial Topaz, one of the most stellar fighters that Homeworld had to offer. The Topaz sat down in front of the tall, fragile gem and held out her hand, where her triangular-faceted gem laid. After successfully healing the rather Imperial gem, Coral offered her a light smile, to conceal her nervousness. After bidding the gem goodbye, she turned to the pile to count how many gems still needed to regain their physical form...

 

 **/Cornelian, Main Battlefield, Future Homeworld Colony 16**...  _47 years before Earth Rebellion_

__

 

 

"Hey, Carn." Carnelian whispered to one of her allies, also a Carnelian. "Yes?" About twelve other Carnelians answered the call in whispers. "Not you, her." One of the many Carnelians that lie in wait pointed to  _our_ Carnelian. For the sake of clarity we will refer to  _our_ Carnelian as Cornelian. "Yeah?" Cornelian whispered, hiding behind the dense shrubbery that covered this future Homeworld Colony. "Are they coming yet?" Cornelian peeked out from behind the bushes, before ducking down instantly, beckoning to the others with her dark orange hand. "Guys, on my count. One, two..." 

Yells rang out, most yelling something simple as "Boo!" Others screamed like it was the end of their lives. As they decided to see who they had managed to spook, hinted by the shrill scream compared to the lower yells of the others told them they had managed to scare another Carnelian. Laughters erupted as the poor, victimized Carnelian fell to the ground. The laughter did not even stop when a loud thumping could be heard, indicating someone new and large was coming to the group of similar gems. No one heard the steps of an angry gem over the laughter of 1, 2, 3- 12 Carnelians! Cornelian barely heard a dark and heavy voice clear their throat, to which she attempted to shush and get the attention of the group. 

"Guys! Attention!" She stood up straight, having smothered her laughter as best as she could, saluting the Jasper in front of the large group. "Are you guys out of your mind?" The higher-ranking gem yelled at the group, waving one hand around to signal her anger. Instantly, the remaining, joking Carnelians were hushed, looking down at the ground in dismay. 

"We are in the middle of battle! Do you guys have any idea how many enemies you could have alerted? You are supposed to be lying in wait, out there," She moved a hand behind her, thrusting it at the raging battle in the far, far distance, "To ambush some enemies and fight, for once! Do you understand me?" A few Carnelians nodded. "Yes, ma'am," Cornelian replied, and one Carnelian made a face when the other gem wasn't looking. "I cannot believe you all, Yellow Diamond  _will_ hear about your incom-"

Poof! The shards of the once fuming Jasper fell to the ground. A few Carnelians screamed in horror, while Cornelian gasped. A few summoned their weapons while a few stared at the shards for a second longer in shock. Cornelian summoned her weapon, the ever so graceful club, and started to run into battle, ready to avenge the gem that had fallen while yelling at the group. Cornelian fought, but made a single mistake from the start. She did not watch over the others of her kind, or even fuse with them, she just swung with fury. She didn't think what could have happened if she left those 1, 2...11 Carnelians alone to fight by themselves. She didn't think those 1,2..10 Carnelians would need help. She didn't think those 1,2...8 Carnelians would fall so quickly. The battle took all of her attention, She didn't keep track of those 1, 2...5 Carnelians.

Finally, the battle was over. Cornelian turned around, clutching the golden brown club within her fist. The sight she saw was unbelievably unsettling. The 1, 2... Oh.

One of the two Carnelians- Hadn't there been more?- Rested on the ground. One had a cut on her ksnee, and the other was facing the ground, turned away from Cornelian, the back of her fist to her face. She couldn't read her expression as the other turned back around. Her face was dry, but the ground below her was wet with tears. Her hands were cut, and Cornelian gaped at them for a second. The Carnelian held shards in her hand, making a fist every so often. The shards cut in deep, but not enough to allow her to retreat, no matter how much she wanted.

The other Carnelian, the one on the floor, held two whole gems in her hands. They weren't cracked, and she was openly sobbing with relief. Carnelians stuck together. They joked around, played games. Being made for fighting meant nothing to this group. Maybe that was the problem. Cornelian pried the fist of the standing Carnelian open, letting the shards drop onto the floor. The Carnelian simply stood and gaped at them. Cornelian felt bad for both her shattered compadres, and her broken ones. She'd have to train the remaining gems better.

 

 **Coral, Healing Station 7, Future Homeworld Colony 16**... _47 years before the Earth Rebellion_

__

Coral stood, stretching her fragile limbs; they hurt from sitting down for so long. It doesn't seem like it would be tiring work, but it was. Very. It wasn't like the energy left her gem without effort. Yeah, she was used to healing one or two gems a day back on Homeworld, not 20 in one hour! She shook her head, glad to tell herself it was over. 

"Uh, hey." Coral turned around, finding herself face to face with three Carnelians. She gave a small wave, and the Carnelian in front took a step forwards. She had leaves in her curly hair, and a more orange hue than the more yellow ones behind her. "We require- uhm," She stuttered, and Coral suppressed a smile. "We require medical attention." The Carnelian in front motioned behind her, to her allies. The one on the left held two stones in her hand, her grip loose and her expression determined. The one on the right held a yellow container. When she removed the lid, Coral could see that it was full of glittering shards.

Her stoical expression softened. Carnelians were always getting hurt. Coral was pretty sure that they had a higher mortality than almost all other gems. Coral put the lid back on the container, and sat it on the floor next to her. "I'll see what I can do," She spoke quietly, and lied through her teeth. No one could fix a shattered gem.

"Thank you." The Carnelian in front took one of the gems from her counterpart, and the other one fell on the hard floor. She scrambled to pick it up and held it out to Coral. "Take care that they return to my squadron, alright? They'll know where to go." 

Coral sighed and looked at the gems, she felt bad. That did not mean she would have to put this higher than her other work, though. She looked around to see if any other healers were around. No, she was the last one. "You be careful too. I can't send them back to a leader who has no physical form..." She smiled at her small attempt to joke around. Cornelian gave a giggle at her attempt, the other two looked do at the ground. "You be careful too," Coral nodded, but she knew the only danger that she faced was failure. The only ones who would harm her is her fellow gems, if they deemed her useless. The trio left as Coral looked down the two stones with a large amount of pity. She knew. She knew that Cornelians were never sent out in a number as little as five. She wondered how many shattered gems lie in the container. 

"Hey! You! Have you seen the Jasper that was fighting earlier? She is needed." A larger, more fierce gem called out to Coral. "No, I have not seen her, maybe she is still on the battlefield..." She responded, making sure her tone was more than respectful. The larger gem left without another word. Coral looked down at the container and sighed, but upon further examination, she saw something that made her concerned. She saw shards that stuck out from the Carnelian ones. She saw a much more bright orange gem. She lightly gasped and set the container down. She looked around, making sure no one saw. She then took the shards out of the container. If she was found with Jasper shards, there would be too many questions. Someone would get punished. She warped out of the healing station, on to the vacant battlefield. She would place them as if the Jasper had been slain bravely in battle. No one would question it. 

And then she went back.


	2. Oop! Check the Ship tag!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The authors decide to make foundation for a ship and not advance the plot

**Coral, Healing Station 3, Future Homeworld Colony 9,** … _10 years before the Earth Rebellion_

 

 

She did not mind being promoted, nor did she love it. Premotion meant more respect, but also it meant more people spectating your every move to see when or if you are to do something wrong.   The job was getting easier, but simply getting more and more fast-paced as time goes on. Heal, move on. There wasn’t enough time to take breaks. She could feel herself getting weary. Getting careless.

 

She did not think that not taking a break would impact her. It did not impact the others. So why should it impact her? Gems did this all the time! Given, the others were given training and time to build up their stamina and she was given none of the sorts, she was doing impossibly well.

However, her exhaustion was getting the best of her. She waved off the next in line with her hand, taking a second to herself, putting a hand over her chest. The Topaz in front of her sneered, holding another gem in her grasp. The gem was thrust towards Coral, unmoving.

 

“Fix her.” She gasped a bit, looking up at the rather impatient Topaz.

“Uh…” She looked to her shoulder at her gem. She swallowed in fear. If she didn’t try now she might get into trouble, but if she did… she could damage her gem or ability to heal forever.

 

“I don’t think it is of my power to do so,” She said, as calm as she could, placing her hands in her lap and letting the injured gem lean against her.She tried her best to not look up and see what the facial expression of the higher ranking gem looked right now. She needed to take a break, regain her strength. She knew the Topaz would not be happy with her but she implored in her mind for the other gem to be patient with her.The other gem screwed up her face, angry and surprised at Coral’s show of insubordination. The injured gem finally found it in her to stand up straight, a sheet of bright teal hair obscuring her face. She seemed to distort and glitch.

 

She started to wonder if she could heal this distorted gem. Could anyone? Maybe if she fused with another healer… No. Not here , Not now. She stared back up at the Topaz.

“I don’t think there is a healer who can heal a turquoise.” she said quietly and showed none of the fear she was feeling. The Topaz  got less and less patient with Coral.

“You’re a healer, do your job!” The shouts of the Topaz were loud enough to disrupt the atmosphere of the healing center, but it did not. The other healers continued on with their work, unfazed at the threats made towards their fellow Coral.

“Turquoises are nearly impossible to heal, you know that. It is a shame that your turquoise will be out of service, but please do not cause a commotion.” She said with the same patience of Topaz, but more sternly and less loud.

“Do you know how hard it is to get a Turquoise with all the new wars going on?! They are not cheap! Heal her!” Topaz demanded, each word was full of rage. Coral cleared her throat. She knew if Topaz were to hurt her she would most likely get blamed for it, since Topaz was obviously a higher ranking gem.

“I already told you, I am unable to do anything. Now if you would mind, you are holding up the line…”

 

The Topaz was incredulous. She leaned very close to Coral, basically seething with anger.

“I _will_ make sure that someone hears about your incompetence, and trust me,” She allowed her face to break into a menacing smile,

“It will not be pretty.” She then began to leave with the turquoise, most likely to find another healer willing to at least try and heal the nearly unhealable gem.

 

Coral felt bad knowing that another healer, possibly another Coral, will have to deal with the now raging gem. She pondered if she should save her comrades the discomfort and try to heal the turquoise. With a small sigh, she again beckoned to the Topaz.

“I’m sorry,” She ducked her head down in a show of respect,

“But turquoises cannot be healed through normal methods, and other ones are very expensive. I’ll  try, but please know that the chance of success is...” She trailed off.

 

There was barely time to finish her sentence given how fast the gem was thrusted back towards her. She gently caught the gem, trying to make sure no more damage came to the poor thing.  She breathed in. Usually she limited the amount of energy that came out of her gem to stop herself from being overworked but now she did none of the sorts. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed carefully, imagining a non-stop flow of energy to the gem before her. She exhaled deeply, feeling light, airy, as if she were about to faint. However, she did not. She felt bad for the poor gem that was left in her care, and a feeling of compassion bubbled up inside of her. It hit her hard, and was an alien feeling to her; she’d normally been very level-headed. She expelled the feeling into the turquoise, and slumped over.

She leaned against a wall, her vision was not the clearest at the moment but she tried to act unfazed. She then look to the gem to see if her efforts were worth it.Indeed, they were. Though the Turquoise still swayed back and forth, she was able to stand on her own, and did not look so distorted and glitched as she did previously. She flicked her hair away from her face, narrow eyes looking at the Coral in astonishment. The Topaz seemed to be following in suit.

“How  did you,” The Topaz muttered. Coral sighed with relief. Not only had she just saved a Turquoise- an outstandingly rare and astonishing feat, but most likely herself and other healers who would not be able to heal the turquoise.

 

 **Cornelian, Main Battlefield, Future Homeworld Colony 9** ... _10 years before Earth Rebellion_

 

 

It was always heartbreaking to watch another Carnelian fall to the ground and shatter. However, more than forty years later, Cornelian had gotten used to it. After the feeling of despair settled in, taking root in her mentality, she became a fighting machine. She created battle strategies, and trained. She changed her form to benefit her own fighting stratagem, so she was a bit smaller, and lighter. Carnelians fought in numbers.

 

A new planet was to be conquered. Twenty Carnelians were sent into battle, in varying sizes, hues, personalities. Despite these differences, they littered the front lines of the fray, dodging in between the aliens’ attacks, getting out of the way of ally forces. There had been much training to transform  Cornelian Squadron #4862 from a silly group of gems to stone cold fighting machines. A lot of training, a lot of Cornelians who didn’t make the cut. A lot of the mass-produced gems were shattered, and still more were simply demoted to less important battlefields, to avoid becoming a liability.

Now in the heat of the fray. Carnelian felt all her hard work pay off. But she never was too prideful about it. She was always focused, she would never make the same mistake again. She wouldn’t let those under her care be shattered. Not only would that lose her the battle, she’d lose some valuable allies. In the constant heat of the battle, There was only one thing that could make it worse: Doing it alone. She never met anyone who could take the terror of war alone. Everyone needs someone and when you lose someone the war gets harder. Usually, it was fine. No one got broken, no one was hurt or shattered.

However, this battle was going a little differently. The enemies were taller than the moderately sized gem. So, the Squadron began to fuse. All together, they were rather massive; big enough to crush anyone that stood in their way, it seemed. However, the enemies were agile. What they now lacked in size, they made up for with agility and precise blows. Slowly, the massive congregation of Cornelian began to get smaller and smaller. Cornelian did not panic, she needed to be level headed to continue on the battle. She needed to think things through and at least try to save her Squadron from a horrible fate. Cornelian fought valiantly, and with a well thought out and well tested strategy. She’d split up for a while, and charge at the enemy with all her strength, taking out a few before jumping back into the congregation of her kind. She _couldn’t_ lose this one.

 

Again, she jumped forwards, and got slammed directly in the gem by a sword. She felt the crack cut in deep, and jumped back like a wounded animal.”I have to retreat, you guys don’t fall back, If it gets bad meet me at the healing station!” She called out to those in her squadron, falling to the back of the battle lines, and then far beyond that, to the base of the gems. She desperately searched for the warp pad leading to the healing station. She ran at godspeed when she found it. 

She beamed up, only to find the station mostly empty, save for a few Corals,a Topaz with her Turquoise, and what seemed to be another Carnelian there, in treatment.

“Excuse me.” Cornelian, having no social sense, called out to the Coral who seemed to be chatting to the Topaz. The Coral shushes the Topaz, “I have a duty to attend to, if you would please leave.” The Coral had said, and with the The Topaz reluctantly left. The Coral then turned to Cornelian,

“Ah, here let me.” And with that, Coral placed her hand on Cornelian’s gem, which was on her neck.

”Hold perfectly still, and do not speak.”

“Oka-”

“Do NOT.” Cornelian stopped talking instantly, as Coral closed her eyes. She directed her strength into this other gem yet again, untill the small crack was mended. As Cornelian took a step back, she saw that the gem looked rather tired.

“Alright. Now, leave, please. I must rest.”

 

“Wait!” Cornelian spoke again, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Do you know anything about the shattered shards that I- Er, Carnelian cut M-27, Squadron 4682-Theta sent many battles back? Were they fixed?”

 

Coral sighed. She did look tired, and unwilling to part with such information.

“I truly think you should get back to your team.” Cornelian figured it may have been considered rude to pry information from a healer, but bowed her head.

“Excuse me, but this is urgent. Were they fixed?” Cornelian took note of the deep breath Coral took in.

“No. I could not save them. No one can bring back the dead I am afraid.” There seemed to be only disappointment in Coral’s shaky tone.

”Dead?” Cornelian asked far too loudly, eyes wide.

“Wait, but, you’re a healer! You can fix anything, right?”

“I’m afraid not. Please go back now.” Coral turned her back to the other gem, murmuring something to the waiting Topaz.Begrudgingly, Cornelian slinked back to the warp, but not before waving to the Coral.

“Thanks anyway, I guess.” She hoped she could at least get the shards back soon.


	3. Finally, The plot begins to advance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the protagonists get dunked on

**Coral, Main Healing Station, Homeworld** _...5 years before Earth Rebellion_

She made it. This was her big break. No longer was Coral defined to a healing station- She’d done so well for herself that now, she was healing top priority gems, straight from the center of Homeworld. She didn’t care. They were all the same at this point. The various healing gems lined against one wall, the Imperial Topazes coming in with their noses held high in the air. The quartzes staggering in from battle, some loud and rowdy and annoying, and others regal and ‘important.’ Who cares?

 

Coral could honestly care less. In the last healing station she had a lot of eyes on her but now there wasn’t a time there wasn’t eyes on her. It was a terrifying thought. One mistake, and she would at best, be moved back down to a numbered healing station. She would rather be somewhere far away from the eyes of her superiors. She would not be allowed to take as many breaks as she did before. They expect so much of her now. She hated it. She hadn’t healed anyone yet but the time neared closer. Sooner  or later a gem would enter, badly injured, and need her help.

 

Oh, here was the first _aristocrat_ to disgrace her presence now. A Mystic Topaz, all long, sheer robes and long gossamer hair seemed to float in, barely grazing the ground. Even with a nearly-fragmented gem, the beautiful Topaz keeped a certain airs around her. She sat down next to Coral, pointing to her nape, where her rather small gem rested. Coral put her hands on the rock, systematically, feeling none of that duty that she had before.

 

Nothing happened. No stream of energy. She closed her eyes, She tried to imagine that feeling, of what she needed to do. Her obligation. It just wasn’t there. Confused, she removed her hands and stood. “Please excuse me.” She stared down at her palms. Nothing was there. Maybe she’d…. lost her only redeeming ability?

 

This was not good. This was very very not good. Coral stood in another room, looking around to see if she was alone. What did she do? Can she fix this? If she tells someone they will just shatter her! She wanted to sit down, rest, not think about such stressful things. She wanted to walk back in and request to go back to a numbered healing station. She looked at her gem with pleading eyes, but nothing happened. Nothing changed. She tried her best to make it glow like it use to. It did not. She held back a cry of fear. What would happen to a coral who couldn’t heal?

 

She cleared her throat. No, she would not show weakness. She would NOT be broken. She would find a way around this. She curtsied to the higher gem. Although the Topaz’s expression was indifferent, Coral learned to find the seething anger underneath every civil expression. She stole away to the private rooms of the healing station, where healing gems of even more importance, such as personal healing gems, were kept. These were much more expensive. It would be easier to notice if one was gone.

 

She called out to one of her fellow Coral, one with much more stamina than she ever had. The gem, who was unoccupied at the moment, came forward and the two gems were alone in the room.

 **Cornelian, Homeworld Ship 345, Homeworld** _...5 years before Earth Rebellion_

Cornelian made it in a different way. While she was still in the main battlefield near-constantly with her squadron, she was the leader of her group of twenty. She got breaks, got to boss around the others (not that she'd ever do so!), and got to schedule meetings with other leaders of combat. She even got to help pick the plans!

 

Of course, she still couldn’t pick her battles. That was the Diamond’s job, after all. And she was definitely not as important as a Diamond. She was just one leader. One in a thousand. Yeah, she got recognition, but she never really got… what was it she never really got? She really shouldn’t be so selfish!

 

Exploring the bases and ships of her Homeworld became Cornelian’s pastime. She’d look around, maybe play or explore in areas where no one was around. She would leave her squadron behind sometimes. Some of them were a bit too serious for her, anyways.

 

She was swinging from the bars of a currently unused ship with some of her cooler teammates, alone. Well, she thought she was alone, anyways. A gem with shifty eyes approached her. Cornelian quickly stopped what she was dropped what she was doing in fear of who had just caught her in her act. What if this was a higher ranking gem, or any gem who would report her for foolish behavior? That would not be good.

 

Cornelian cleared her throat,

“Yes, may I help you?” She said looking to the new gem. The new gem kept a straight face for about ten more seconds for breaking out into full out laughter.

“That- that was hilarious!” The gem said, now walking out into full light.

“I am Moldavite, nice to meet you.” She chuckled once more, sticking out her hand for the other to shake.

 

Without hesitation, Cornelian shook the other gem’s hand with both of hers, happy that this gem didn’t seem to be reprimanding her.

“Hi Moldavite! I’m Carnelian,  cut M-27-” The green gem cut Cornelian off by raising a hand. Thinking that Moldavite must have been higher-ranking than her, Cornelian complied.

“Carnelian, then! And so are all these?” Five of her teammates, the ‘cool’ ones, looked down at the ground, leaving the talking up to their leader.

 

“Yeah! Guys, wanna say hi?” Two of them waved. The rest remained silent. “So, are there any more of you about on this ship? We thought it was empty, see.” “Oh, yeah! About fourteen more of us. So there’s more of you?” Moldavite nodded, just as some sort of commotion echoed from the chambers of the ship.

 

“Carnelian! Look what we found!” “Oh, Yellow Diamond’s gonna be so proud of us!” Entering the room two at a time, the Carnelian Squadron each brought in some sort of gem, ten in all. Some of the gems were bigger than the Carnelians, and required two of the hardy gems to bring in. Some of the gems struggled. Wasting no time, the Squadron would squeeze them or fetch them a blow over their physical form with a club until they poofed.

“These guys were trying to start a rebellion, Leader! What do we do?”

 

Moldavite’s expression was unreadable.

“Why don’t we put my friends down, all of you?”

“Uh yeah guys! Moldavite’s cool, why don’t we just let ‘em off with a warning, or something?” A particularly yellow-tinted Carnelian glared at Cornelian, thrusting a finger at her leader in a show of defiance. “Are you consorting with the _enemy,_ Corn?”

 

“No! I didn’t know that they were-” She glanced at Moldavite, who shrugged in return. She was the leader, she had to figure this out for herself.

“But even in they are- What basis do you have for this claim? Huh?”

 

The other Carnelians pulled out some paper and showed it to their leader.

“See! I told you!” A few yelled, but the one holding the document described it.

“You see, there was a message found that was directed to these _traitors_. It asks how the ‘plan’ is going and if the ship is still flying. This cannot be good. I already contacted homeworld, no officials are reporting any messages such as this leaving homeworld.” The gem continues on with evidence, but Cornelian just stared at Moldavite to see if any word of it was true. Had she truly been tricked so easily? Moldavite didn’t seem to show any emotion on her face to signal if anything said was true or not.

 

“Well- This, this, doesn’t really prove anything, doesn’t it? Drastic measures were not called for.” Cornelian tried very hard to sound in control of  the situation, scolding her teammate.

“The message may have simply slipped through the cracks. It happens all the time, right?” The Carnelian shook her head.

“Nope. A representative from Homeworld is on her way to have this fugitives captured and broken. Maybe we can do it now? We’d save them some time, and maybe get a promotion or something!”

“No! You are NOT to break anyone. Is that clear?”

A few of the Carnelians look at their leader skeptically. Half of them back off and the other half argue with Cornelian. This small argument continues until homeworld officials arrive.

 

Footsteps. Loud ones, too, heels clicking against the hard floor of the shiny, hard flooring. Those Carnelians against her had taken to simply yelling at their leader, while those on her side took to shouting back. Cornelian tried to reason with both sides, but it wasn’t happening. When she managed to hear the steps over the sound on her team turning against each other, she shushed those on her side and stood perfectly still.

 

Slowly, everyone stopped yelling. Cornelian stood at attention, ready to bow to whatever diplomatic gem was sent to grace her presence. Ah, Spinel. Well, a Spinel, anyway. “What seems to be the problem? We‘ve gotten a report from a Carnelian on this ship who is ready to turn some fugitives over.” Cornelian wasn’t even aware that Homeworld had known fugitives. Didn’t they just take care of everything all nice and tidy when it happened? She began to feel faint. Everything was happening all at once. “How dare you just, just kill gems!? Shatter them! Just cause you are scared!!” She shouts with a rage none of her comrades had ever seen from their leader. Cornelian looked around, suddenly afraid of the repercussions of her outburst. Spinel sighed, looking almost disappointed. “Get the fugitives on to my ship, I will take care of _this_ Carnelian,” spat the Spinel. “Wait.. What?” Cornelian yells as a much larger arm grasps her smaller one.

 

Of course she struggled. Just an hour ago, she wasn’t even aware of a rebellion. Cornelian was just trying to defend someone who had been nice to her, who had talked to her. She didn’t want to get involved in this whole mess. “I didn’t do anything! On what basis am I being arrested?” She tried to remain calm and superior, but she couldn’t. Her voice came out as a squall as she thrashed. “For consorting with these pitiful, wannabe renegades, of course.”

 

“But I didn’t! I’m not! I’m just trying to be fair! Like a leader! I am a leader, you know!” She pleaded with this Homeworld constable. “If you br-” She choked on the word. “If you break me, my whole squadron will be lost!” Spinel seemed to consider this, tapping her angular chin with a gloved hand, a small smile forming. “Who contacted me to retrieve these criminals?” A rather orangey hand was raised. “You’re the new leader of this squadron. Congratulations!” The Spinel chuckled as the rebels and Cornelian were taken away by the others from the warrior’s former squadron.

 

A few of her friends put up a fight. They called out for their leader, claiming that no battles would be the same without her, that they refused to work without her. “Carnelians, always so emotional. I’ll be sure to bring this defect up with someone soon.” The Spinel didn’t waste any time bringing them on board with the rest.

 

The ship was dark and cold. Cornelian could hear wailing from somewhere  in the crowded area as she was thrust into a cell with a lot of her kind, and Moldavite. “Well, them’s the breaks, I suppose!” The green gem joked, but Cornelian couldn’t see any hope in this situation. “I’m finished! Gone!” She ran a hand through her very curly hair, and wheezed. She was terrified. She looked around the large holding cell. Some small figures were alone, and either that was a very large figure, or two gems holding onto each other. As she looked closer, she found it was definitely the latter. They were wrapped around each other, nestled into each other, almost. Experimentally, Cornelian wrapped her arms around herself and sat down. She didn’t feel comforted.

 

“Hey, don’t look so blue.” Moldavite sat down next to her and pat her shoulder. “Someone’s swinging by soon,” She whispered, looking to the left. “When they say the word, tell them you’re a soaring Carnelian, okay?” “Will that keep me intact? Will I die if I do that?”

 

“Trust me.”

 

Just as she glanced over her shoulder, observing more of her holding cell, she saw a familiar, common sight. A Coral! She squinted, it couldn’t be. That hair, the gem placed just so on the forearm. It could have been her, from before. Cornelian had been healed many times, but she always let her mind wander back to her first serious battle, her first serious casualties. She was really here. In a cell, as a fugitive. No way.

 

 **Coral, Homeworld Jail 42, Homeworld,** _...5 years before Earth Rebellion (A day earlier)_

_ _

Coral took a deep breath out. She was not tired. Even after all this healing, her gem was fine. She walked out of the room and was greeted by an Imperial Topaz, who stood next to a Mystic Topaz, different from the one before, both looking smug and disgusted at the same time. Coral cleared her throat, “I am sorry, but the healing station is closed at this time, please refer to-” she was interrupted with the Imperial grabbing at her wrist. “Coral, Cut-4XS, you are under arrest for the crime of harvesting another gem.” Coral almost shrieked when she was pulled along with the other gems without even being given a second to talk.

 

“What? I would never!” Coral said quietly, but firmly. The Topazes seem to pay no mind at the protesting Coral. She decided to remain quiet, not daring to protest more. She was already on death row. The other gems had so much more control over her, despite being painfully boring and painstakingly methodical about _everything-_ No. She stopped that train of thought, hoping that no one even heard her think such bad things about her superiors.   

 

“May I ask why these claims... came about, or am I not permitted to know?” She really tried to keep that facetious edge out of her voice, but she just couldn’t. The Mystic Topaz glared at her softly, in that unsettling, passive-aggressive way they all did. It made her very uncomfortable. “Of course you’re permitted. We’ve received a report from a Imperial Topaz,” The mentioned gem grinned wickedly, “And her Turquoise, who both claimed that you’ve healed the latter. As I am sure you know, when a Turquoise is broken, that’s usually it for that gem. It will die.” The Mystic Topaz clasped her hands together and sighed.

 

“I used to have a Turquoise, you know. She saved my life. A pity you weren’t around. Or rather, the Coral you were harvesting for that added power. No one can save a Turquoise on her own.” Coral looked down. She did that all by herself. These accusations simply were not fair. “I’ve not harvested a gem before in my life,” She persisted, “I do not know how to, after all. I was never taught to do such things.”

 

“That does not mean that you did not commit this awful act.” They weren’t making any sense. Why was this happening so soon? Coral tried digging her heels on the ground to impede their progress, but she was thin and lithe and the Imperial was tanky and much larger than her. Coral was a relatively tall gem, but even still, the two towered over her.

 

Proof was not needed in cases such as this. If a higher-up suspected you did something wrong, you were through. There were no trials, there wasn’t any pleading. And forbid if a _Diamond_ thought you were committing a crime. Luckily, they rarely gave such trivial crimes such as the harvesting of one gem a second thought. Realization flooded Coral’s normally dim vision. The world seemed to get brighter for a second. She realized that at any time, for anything she did or did not do, she could be killed. The world would not come to screeching halt if she were to be shattered. There were so many of her. It just didn’t matter. So why not have some fun if she were to die?

 

Again, she tried to dig her heels into the ground, and at the same time, pulled back her arm and prepared to make her escape. Her attempted plan was to roll under the Mystic Topaz and dodge to the left, but just as she was preparing to, the Imperial caught up to her and plucked her from the ground easily. So much for the idea of freedom.

 

She felt herself being lifted over the shoulder of the Topaz as she continued walking. With a sigh, she relaxed. What more could she do but attempt to plead her case? She needed to plead innocent so she could survive. If she wanted to walk out unharmed, she needed to be innocent.

 

The only problem  was, she wasn’t. Coral wasn’t innocent.

 

 **Turquoise, MPR-2, Homeworld** _...5 years before Earth Rebellion_ _(a few hours later.)_ _._

** **

****She held the shards of her owner in her hands. No, they were not shards anymore. They were dust. She’d shattered the gem, she had then beaten those shards to smaller shards, until those shards were nothing but a brownish dust. She squeezed the dust in her hand. A solemn expression on her face and she let the dust run through her fingers. She sniffled a bit.

 

She wondered what caused this. Many a Turquoise had been through the same conditions as her and handled it well. Someone had even earned the trust of their owners. Why was this Turquoise different? Why had she snapped so suddenly? What had caused her to destroy such a larger gem in a rampage? Why was the beginning of many questions, but the most important question began with ‘how?’ How could she even manage such a horrid task? Even if the anger caused this, Turquoise would have had to use a lot of strength to do such a thing.

 

Was she corrupt?

 

Is this what corruption felt like?

 

Oh Diamond, please no. Not now.

 

No, no. This was not corruption. This was oppression. You can force things down, but eventually the only way is to go will be up.  

 

She wiped the remainder of the dust off her fingers, onto her skirt, where the sand-colored dust clung. She looked behind her. Never again would anyone tell her what to do, not even the faded red gem shaking behind her.

 

The gem fled, and Turquoise did not bother chasing her down. Instead, she freed herself from the remains of her crime, and waited her arrest.

 

No one would ever tell her what to do again.

 

 

 

 


	4. Haha! You Thought 3 POVS was too much?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit man lets be rebels

**Rhodonite, MPR-2, Homeworld,** _ 5 years before Earth Rebellion _

 

Rhodonites are very sensitive gems. That is why they are used as artisans, to sell lower gems like Pearls and Turquoises and modify them every so often. Their forms have to be perfectly crafted and their appearance modifiers perfect to gracefully flaunt how expensive the gems were. 

 

That sensitivity was great for fashion, but it wasn’t great when you’d just witnessed the Topaz you’d been catering to for a while get brutally murdered. It made her knees shake as she ran away, blinded by her own tears. It wasn’t common for a gem to cry.

  
  
  


Rhodonite didn’t want to be next. Oh Diamond, she didn’t want to be shattered.  She turned to see if she was being followed. She didn’t notice the gem in front of her until she ran into the slightly larger gem. The larger gem took the smaller by the arms, “What are you doing, why are you crying?” The larger gem looked at least somewhat concerned as they look at Rhodonite. She started to sob, unable to be understood. She sobbed and sobbed, unable to calm herself. The larger gem’s look slowly turned from concern to alarm as she hoisted Rhodonite onto her shoulders. The smaller gem kept slipping, either unwilling or unable to stand on her own as her knees gave way.

 

The Topaz she’d been hired by was literal dust. It was hard not to replay that scene again and again in the confines of Rhodonite’s brain. The sandy-looking dust running through her fingers. Had any gem ever been smashed and broken that much? The way it seemed to turn to lumps as it mixed in with the few tears the Turquoise had shed. The way it clashed with the teal colors of her dress. Even in the midst of panic, Rhodonite couldn’t stop thinking about her only purpose: fashion.

 

She remained like this, the larger gem gentle to not hurt the inconsolable one. She set the gem down and beamed up to a warp to talk with a gem specifically designed to help with  _ this  _ sort of problem. After a few minutes Rhodonite was rushed into a room, the walls painted a beautiful blue. The blue reminded Rhodonite of the gem who had caused the tragedy she just witnessed. She sat there as gems who were made to evaluate other gems yelled at her and tried to get her to respond. A few hours later the worst was decided. 

 

Rhodonite was most likely to be corrupt.  That is what had caused this sudden freakout, this sudden irreversible damage to the artisan’s psyche. The gem just kept muttering about the walls, about “the dust,” and about how orange-brown and blue clashed in the worst of ways. Nothing made sense.

 

But she wasn’t corrupt! She was simply shaken, upset in ways that most Rhodonites were not. Most of the artisan gems have never witnessed a death, and truly near one as horrific as this one. 

 

“There’s nothing…. Break her…” 

 

What happened next was quick thinking and insane amounts of luck.   Seemingly coming out of her catatonic state,  She shrieked, so loud and high pitched, that the gems stopped in their tracks. They looked at each other and decided to change their verdict. She’d obviously heard them. What else could that noise be for…?

 

Could it be to break their gems with the frequencies…? A stretch for sure, but…

 

What could they do with a disturbed gem other than take her to prison? 

It was obvious that Rhodonite wasn’t corrupt. Corrupt gems were usually silent, and had no idea of what was going on around them. It was like a hazy vision. A violent hazy vision.   Later, the still traumatized gem was being loaded onto a ship. They told her they were sending her to someone who could help her. One of the best specialists in the entire empire!  Seemingly reassured, the gem quieted down again, returning to her unmoving state.

 

She didn’t seem to notice the long-haired Spinel leaving the scene, callous smile still on her cold face. Now, to check out the area where the Rhodonite had been found and quench the cause of this disruption. With all this on her agenda, maybe she’d get a Pearl as a prize!

 

**Coral, Prison Camp 87, Homeworld Colony 665**

 

Coral couldn’t look up.  There were so many of them. So many gems, trapped. Talking, wailing, ranting, kicking, yelling, fighting, screaming. So much noise in this one encampment. It was annoying. It was painful. Coral pulled her knees up to her head and wrapped her arms around them, resting in that position.

 

She didn’t even initially notice when a different gem sat down beside her. Coral peered up, confused as to why someone would decide to take their place right next to her. It only took a little moment to realized who was sitting next to her. An awkward face like that was hard to forget. A smile a mile wide, complete with bright, wide eyes, all set in a round face with an orange complexion. However, that smile was diminished, eyes a little tired from years of wear. A rather large hand, the same color, came up to wave at the healer.  Coral paused. She looked to her left then right. Was this really happening? What are the odds? And why is Cornelian in the same position as her? She takes a deep breath and looks back at to her new friend, “Hello.” She didn’t bother waving, the nerves made it hard enough to breath anyway.  The fighting gem’s happy appearance quickly turned concerned at the strained quality of the other’s voice, as if the situation of their reuniting finally dawned on her. 

 

“Coral? What are you-- What are you doing here?” Her voice held fret in it’s usually peppy, nearly melodious tones.  “I.” She paused as to think if what she was about to share was worth it. “I did something,” She leaned back and sighed, sinking into herself. Cornelian slightly tilted their head, a silent way of asking what Coral did. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Coral turned away from Cornelian.  

 

“Oh.” The orange gem’s voice came out in a whispery breath. What could be so terrible that Coral wouldn’t share it with her? The Carnelian squad  _ always _ shared their worries with each other. Well, at least Cornelian thought. No Carnelian under her supervision had ever done anything  _ bad, _ like showing disrespect to their superiors, or anything. Coral nodded, as if understanding that Cornelian understood. She thought to turn the question back on the gem herself, but decided not to unless she brought it up on her own.  Instead, she thought of another question, equally as important. “How long have you been here, is there any of your squad here with you?” She looked around. There were too many gems to notice another Carnelian, especially with Corals fear still looming about her possible shattering.   

 

Instantly, Cornelian ducked her head in a cringe, as if remembering events prior she wished she could forget. Her head hung low, and the trademark smile was replaced with lips stretched into a perfect line, as if she were thinking of how to respond. Would that be a first? 

 

“It’s just me-- Oh! And--” That cheery smile flew back onto her face as if by magic-- “And Moldie! Moldavite!” Coral sighed and took a look around. “A Moldavite is here? Now why would that be?” Hey , it’s better than asking Cornelian why she was here and then having to admit why she herself was here. “You should introduce me,” Coral did not want to meet Moldavite. What else did she have? Why not meet Cornelians friend. Maybe she can make a circle of friends before they shatter her. 

Cornelian stood up to retrieve her friend. The kind gem was, currently, talking to a red, small, shaken gem. Both of the taller gem’s dull green hands were placed on her shoulders, and she appeared to be speaking in a calm, soft voice. It was almost as if Moldavite’s voice had the quality to cancel out any outside noise and make the listener focus on her and her alone. The red gem nodded along to her words, before swaying and leaning on the gem, fanning her face with a defined, agile hand. Rhodonite. Moldavite led her by the arm to Coral and Cornelian. 

Cornelian swept her hand in a wide arc in front of Coral and Moldavite, as if to introduce them.  Coral was slightly confused as to what the Moldavite was doing, her face scrunched up and she looked to Cornelian for answers. Cornelian shrugged. Coral didn’t want to interrupt but did anyways. She cleared her throat, taking a step in front of Cornelian. “Excuse me, are you Moldavite?” After all this mess, Coral had lost all the patience she was forced to have during her times while working. 

The green gem smoothed her skirts and inclined her head to Coral. “Yes, hello. I’m Moldavite, Cut--” Oddly enough, she, well,  _ cut _ herself off before giving her facet number. “I’m Moldavite,” She repeated, “And that’s all I am.”  Coral raised an eyebrow, but let it slide. “Yes. I am Coral. Facet 1A1H Cut 4XS,” She used her full title to rebel against those who rebelled. Good job Coral. She didn’t smile, didn’t even move for the Moldavite. She was tempted to walk and hide behind Cornelian again, but she did not. She stood her ground. 

Besides, Cornelian was too busy being absolutely starstruck. She’d only been able to just be a Carnelian around her squadron, and even then, some of the uppity ones, namely, the ones who got her in this mess, still preferred to use their full title. “I’m Cornelian!” She suddenly stated, a smile on her lips. “And you’re Coral!” She turned to the healer, stars in her eyes. “And you--” Her eyes cut to Rhodonite, and her head tilted to an angle, much like a bird’s, as she silently inquired the name of the Gem. 

Rhodonite looked up to the two new gems, a little sad they interrupted her and Moldavite. Her face looks concerned and still in a state of shock. She missed Moldavites calming touch, but she sat here. She tried to speak but the words would not come out. “Rho…” She took a deep breath in and looked to Moldavite with a concerned look.

“Er, she means Rhodonite.” Again, the Moldavite put her hands on the shorter gem’s shoulders for comfort and support, and offered a kind smile to the shaking artisan. “She sells pretty things,” She offered, and that seemed to bring a bit more life into the other, as she nodded numbly . Coral looked at the poor reddish gem. She should have offered a smile. She didn’t. Instead she looked to Cornelian for answers, for help. What should she do?

Cornelian looked a bit more pensive than usual; her eyebrows raised slightly, one arm outstretched as if to comfort the artisan in some way. She wouldn’t be much help. Moldavite, however, was, and comforted the other gem in small ways. Her maternal gaze cut to Coral, as if evaluating her. Her eyes narrowed, before her eyebrows shot up, as if she’d got all the information she needed. “Remember the codeword, Cornelian. Prehnite should be…” Her gaze cut around the crowd, as if looking for someone. Coral was very confused as she took a step back, trying not to bump into Cornelian. “Who is Prehnite? How long have you both been here?” Long enough to get to know some people it seems. She turns her back to Moldavite while she looks around for this Prehnite. She has no idea what Prehnite looks like but anything to not have to look Moldavite in the eye was good. Her glare alarmed her, it was even more condescending than her. But it was a more pure condescending. A condescending look with good intentions. 

Cornelian was not able to answer the first question, but met the second one with a sheepish smile. They  _ were _ in a prison ship, a very crowded one at that. Though there were no trials, many times Homeworld found it easier to close all fugitives, traitors, and n’erdowells in one location, before landing the ship further away from homeworld to do the deed. Even if, miraculously, some gems survived the slaughter, they would be stranded, with nowhere to go, nothing to do. A fate worse than death. It was only fair to explain how she got there.

“Moldavite.” The word came out in a happy, fond tone, rather than the exasperated one that would be expected.

“She didn’t mean to, but she promises that if I tell… well, if I tell someone that I’m a ‘soaring Cornelian--’ whatever that is, right?-- I’ll at least be spared. It’s like a codeword! Maybe she’ll extend this grace to you, too!!”  

Coral eyed over Moldavite.

”Grace? Moldavite? That gem?” She mutters to herself. She didn’t know why but she trusted Cornelian much more than Rhodonite or Moldavite. It was mostly the familiarity Cornelian had to back when Coral was just simply healing soldiers. But Moldavite? What power did this gem have over Corals death. What did  _ this _ gem have that Coral didn’t? How could a simplistic gem such as the Moldavite in front of her hold so much power?

“Moldavite? What kind of thing does she have up her sleeve?” She glares slight at the gem behind her before softening her gaze to Cornelian

“Do you know what she means by sparing? How can she spare us?” She whispered to Cornelian. 

Sadly, however, the fighting gem just shook her head. 

“I don’t know! But I think she’ll do whatever she’s doing when she finds this Prehnite. I’ve never seen a Prehnite before! I bet she’s real fancy, otherwise, I’d have seen her out on the battlefield.” Cornelian scrunched up her face in thought. This, of course, was not entirely true. Diplomatic gems like Spinels rarely set foot on the battlefield, and while they weren’t exactly common, they certainly wouldn’t be considered as fancy as the gem imagined. As the two conversed, Moldavite began leading Rhodonite towards a different part of the moving encampment by the arm, probably towards this ‘Prehnite.’

Coral then turned her attention to the less shaky Rhodonite, who had calmed down immensely after Moldavites help. She wandered what a Rhodonite would even be used for. She has never had to heal one before. Why was Rhodonite here? Every gem locked up here had a story, a misdeed in Coral’s eyes. Little did Coral know most of them were on here for a much lesser crime than hers. She scrunched up her eyebrows thinking about how such a fragile gem would end up here. She decides to stray from the group. Maybe meet other gems on their way to death. She turned but ran straight into a gem, smaller than her, but both of them dropped to the ground. 

Instantly, Coral looked up again, as if to apologize, and was greeted with a very familiar blue-green gem. It was the gem that had got her into this mess, the gem she’d healed what seemed like forever ago. Shaking her mess of black and teal hair out of her face was Turquoise, eyes cast low, as if afraid to look anyone in the eye. After standing up, Turquoise bowed politely, as if apologizing, before raising her eyes to the other gem’s face. A look of confusion passed over her face, followed swiftly by shock. A small noise of surprise made it’s way out of her throat. “Oh--!”

Coral took a deep breath in. “Sorry, I did not see you there,” She apologized it a monotone. She looked back to see if Cornelian or Rhodonite saw what just happened. She stood and dusted off the bottom of her dress. She clears her throat. “A coincidence to see you here” She says, impossible for Turquoise to tell if she is being rude or genuine. She peered at the other gem before looking straight at the other gem. She was tempted to gloat, say ‘you’re welcome’ or ‘do you know how hard it was to heal your messed up gem?’ But she didn’t. She just glared. Rhodonite, had, in fact, seen what had transpired. Her breath instantly quickened, and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from yelling out. Still, tears trickled down her face and she began to tremble.This may not have _been_ the Turquoise who preformed that terrible act, but she sure looked like it. Turquoise seemed to have recognized her, too, as she looked away quickly, her expression unchanging.

She didn’t expect any witnesses, and she could only guess why Rhodonite, pure, kind Rhodonite who helped Turquoise change her physical form all too often would be in a prison like this. Moldavite, sensing the red gem’s distress, gently took Rhodonite’s hand and held it, a very foreign and uncommon behavior among gems.  _ No  _ one did that. The artisan tightened her grip around the other gem’s hand, who didn't flinch. She could take a bit of discomfort for the safety of another. 

Rhodonites breathing picked up as she leaned toward Moldavite more. She didn’t wish to cause a scene but she was terrified of Turquoise. She wanted to move, she wanted to disappear. The tension caused confusion among the other gems. Turquoise broke the silence when she cleared her throat and turned to Coral.”Sorry.” The Turquoise turned to leave, and Rhodonite rested her head on Moldavite’s arm, feeling a sense of relief as the small murderer walked off. Coral squints at Turquoise and turned back to Cornelian, but little did she know that another gem was walking in a direction that did not comply with her’s. Today was not the day for Coral’s balance as she tried to grab on the gem who was about to knocked her over but missed and she was about to fall onto the only gem she trusted here. Cornelian. 

“Ah--” The fighting germ moved to support Coral, steadying the other’s shoulders with her large hands. Coral looked up at her, resisting the urge to flush, and quickly stood up straight. Perhaps there was an issue with her. Maybe this is why she got so tired when healing, why her balance was off. Maybe she would be better off broken. A quick at on her shoulder drew her attention back to Cornelian, who’d noticed her frown. “Hey, it’s not so bad here, right? We’re gonna get out. I trust Moldie. Do you trust me?”   She didn’t know quite what to say. She looked down. Look at where she was. Could she really trust anyone? She didn’t know. Was Cornelian _naive_ for trusting “Moldie?” Or was this the real deal? Was this Moldavite going to be able to fix this mess? 

After a while, Cornelian seemed to step back, nodding in recognition of Coral’s hesitancy. “Okay! That’s fine too! But this is the only option we got. We either do this, whatever this is, or…” She  let herself falter, holding up a small, chubby fist and clenching, making a crackling sound with her mouth. “That happens.” She softened her voice, before dropping her hand to her side. “So this is the only thing we can do.” She tried to reassure Coral, as Coral had tried to help her all those years ago. Coral tried to help her recover the teammates she’d lost, and now the favor needed to be repaid.  She took a sharp breath in. Ah yes, being shattered. It’s either ride or die, literally. She nodded. “Yes, yes I understand. When is the plan thing happening?” She spared a glance over to Moldavite, Rhodonite looking almost completely calmed. Coral’s arms cross on her chest and she makes a quizzical expression. “Do  _ we _ do anything for this to work? Or should we just stay right where we are, doing what we are doing? Surely she can’t do it all on her own.” 

“I don’t think it’s just her!” Cornelian lowered her voice and motioned to the sliding door of the holding cell. Bars couldn’t keep in gems for long , especially gems of the shape-shifting variety. “I think maybe someone’s going to come through there and help. Or, maybe it is her. I don’t see the diamonds ordering our release anytime soon.” Her voice turned quizzical, and she looked to Moldavite, waving her over.

“Moldie! I’ve got some questions for you,” She called, louder than she probably should have.  Coral jumped slightly, out of instinct, she grabbed on to Cornelian’s arm. “Not so loud” She hissed, not trying to sound a jumpy as she was. She let go of her arm quickly when she realized she was holding Cornelian’s arm. She sighed a bit and looked over to Moldavite, her look opposite to Cornelians loyal expression. She looked very very sceptical and a little disrespectful. Nothing new. 

Slowly, yet surely, the green gem made her way over, without the Rhodonite in tow that she’d been placating. She smiled easily, without a care in the world, as if she’d been through this procedure before. Cornelian repeated the inquiry that Coral had presented to her, and slowly, Moldavite began to explain.

“Some sort of squadron will come in to check on us. Normally, the squadron is all one type of gem. All Rubies, usually. But, when it’s time for us to…” Moldavite made a vague gesture, meant to symbolize breaking out, “A prehnite will be with them. She’s pale, and thin. My friend. Not supposed to be there. That means that all of the gems with that Prehnite are on our side. And we get out, and take control of the ship.” It sounded so unbelievably absurd.  Coral almost lets out a laugh. She looks at Corn to see if she is buying this. “You really think you will be able to overpower the people in control of this ship? With such a little of a plan? Excuse me if i sound  _ skeptical  _ but trying to take controls of this ship with a simple squadron?  Sounds impossible at best.” She had a bit of sass in her voice, and in her stance.  

In response, Moldavite gestures to the inhabitants of the ship. The prisoners. Some crying, some talking, mingling, sighing, reminiscing about life on Homeworld. “Everyone you see here? Everyone you see here has a purpose. If we make this battle quick, we can win.” She motions to Cornelian with a smile. “We have fighters.” She stares pointedly at Coral, as if  to let her know that she recognized the tone in her voice and wasn’t having it. “We have healers. We can do anything.” Her words were powerful, moving even. She was brave, and Cornelian nodded along as she spoke. “Anything!” She grinned, turning to Coral to see if her friend was as moved as she. 

She wasn’t. Something about the way Cornelian looked at Moldavite made her almost forget all those words. She looked back at Moldavite. This gem was obviously more well rounded then she was but that doesn’t mean she was going to let this go easily. “How are you going to unite all the gems? What about the gems who are useless and can’t help or the gems who don’t want to or the gems are actually here cause they did bad things and would do bad things to any gem here huh?” She felt like she had given a good rebuttal, she felt a little pride in shooting Moldavite down or at least trying to. 

Something in Moldavite’s expression softened. She gave a smile, and a light shrug of her shoulders. “The worst thing that could happen to us is us getting shattered.” Well, she’s wrong. The worst thing that could happen would be them getting harvested. “And we’re already getting shattered, aren’t we? We should give it a chance. No one is useless. Rhodonite isn’t useless. Turquoise isn’t useless. You aren’t useless. We all can chip in. And if people don’t want to help, we can’t make them.” She didn’t seem to have a counterargument, but stood her ground. “We can’t stop that plan.You can comply, or you can sit down and wait for… the outcome. Salvation, or shards?” 

Coral take a deep breath in and puffs up her chest. No gem has talked like this. No gem had been hopeful are this blindly faithful before. She let her breath out and looked at Moldavite. “Salvation or Shards.” She said under her breath before turning her back to Moldavite and walking away, not really caring that she was be leaving Cornelian behind.

**Author's Note:**

> Casey is Teal  
> Riley is a Link Color blue  
> [Cornelian By Casey](http://i.imgur.com/kTPqxvx.jpg)  
> Rough Drafts  
> [Ch1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/180TcjL6JJPaIQX5EsW6hmun5yxWfwnPOlnGyKeXRcKI/edit?usp=sharing)  
> [Ch2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5VVrOPlaw4)  
> [Ch3](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hd6Y3p4PzSK3z20cASxuJu7c6oIR_RM3PjrO8vzHFtw/edit)


End file.
